Page 13 of Casper
“Luna can be shy at first. Especially if she’s sober. I’m sure you didn’t scare her.” Codie did her best to be reassuring.
I lifted one shoulder in a half shrug, playing it off like no big deal. My hands moved quickly as I signed, “Did you guys have a good night? I didn’t expect anyone back this early.”
Stray snickered, helping himself to the tray of joints from the coffee table. “It’s Codie’s first night living here. We need to celebrate. In every position imaginable. If you weren’t already home, we’d probably start right here on the couch.”
Codie slapped him in the chest, making a little squeak of protest. “Ew, Stray, no we wouldn’t. Don’t say things like that. Don’t listen to him, Casper. I swear we won’t do things like that in the common areas.”
“Yes we will, and you’ll never know.” Stray smirked, puffing on his joint.
With a roll of her eyes, Codie dragged herself to her feet. “I’m going upstairs to shower. You’re impossible.”
Stray started to get up as if to follow her, but I motioned for him to stay put. I needed to not be alone just yet.
“What’s up?” he asked when it was just the two of us. “I’m pretty sure you’re in the clear for that haunted house thing. Nobody will tie that to any of us. There’s no evidence anyway.”
“I went to see Luna after she left the party,” I signed. “She seemed nervous. I think what happened in the haunted house scared her. I think she’s afraid of me now. Too bad because I don’t think I can stay away from her, Stray. I feel like I need to protect her. I feel like I need to make her mine.”
Stray leaned back against the couch cushions, shoving a hand through his black hair. He blew out several smoke rings before chuckling. “Maybe Auryn is right. Maybe there is something going around. Looks like you caught it bad. Welcome to the club, buddy.”
I frowned. This wasn’t exactly the response I’d hoped for. My hands moved again. “That’s not exactly reassuring.”
Stray’s grin grew, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. “Oh, I’m sorry. What am I supposed to say? I can’t tell you what to do. You have to figure this one out for yourself. Although I’ve got to say that I’m impressed. I’ve never seen you interested in any woman for more than a one-time fuck.”
“There’s something different about Luna. I don’t know what it is about her, but I can’t resist her. Stop laughing, you dick.” I ended off signing by flipping him the middle finger.
“Sorry, bro. If you think this is bad, just wait until Auryn makes it his mission to bust your balls.”
After finishing his joint, Stray disappeared upstairs with Codie. It wasn’t long before the sound of their wild fucking made its way downstairs. I considered retreating to the basement. Not quite ready to call it a night, I pulled out my phone and looked up the cheerleader bitch who’d been hassling Luna at the party.
It didn’t take long to find her socials. She didn’t have anything locked down. All of it was open to the public, making it far too easy for me to discover that she was a sorority sister who drove a Mercedes convertible. She even had pictures of herself posing with the car.
Since I still had some business to take care of, I left the house and drove straight to the sorority. As I’d expected, the Mercedes was there. She hadn’t taken it to the graveyard, most likely taking an Uber. This was too fucking easy.
Cutting someone’s brake line wasn’t as simple as it appeared in the movies. However, it wasn’t impossible either. Especially for someone determined. Although I’d never get violent with a woman, I wasn’t opposed to fucking with her car and letting fate decide.
By the time I finished, I felt ready to head home and crash for the rest of the night. The monster within had been appeased. Now I could rest.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LUNA
When Monday rolled around, I was ready to head back to campus in an effort to pretend my life was normal. As I dressed that morning in a long, flowing green dress that had cute little mushrooms all over it, I thought about what Casper had said. He liked my whimsical vibes.
Try as I might to keep him out of my head, I thought about him for the rest of the weekend. Mostly because I kept having flashbacks to the gruesome moment he killed the man in the haunted house. More than once I woke up from a nightmare drenched in sweat. How could someone be so quick to take a life while also being so enigmatic and composed?
I couldn’t deny that I was drawn to Casper. Although I couldn’t be sure if it was because he’d saved me or because I’d really felt something the night he came to my room.
With my hair twisted into a pink and purple braid that fell over one shoulder, I wore sparkly turquoise eyeshadow with a faint shimmer of highlighter on my cheeks. As I walked across the parking lot from the dorm residency to the school, I nervously played with the chunky amethyst pendant hanging from my neck.
After having the rest of the weekend to think about it, I decided that I needed to talk to Storm and Codie about what really happened that night. If I kept it to myself, I might explode.
Getting through my morning classes proved especially difficult. I’d enrolled in an Arts program, taking English and film studies with a minor in creative writing. I loved my classes. They usually captivated my attention from start to finish. Not today though.
While the professor guided a discussion on an old film that we’d recently watched, I struggled to think about anything but Casper and the night in the haunted house. The professor, a man in his forties who insisted we call him Tony, stopped me on my way out of class to ask if I was all right. He’d noticed my distraction.
“Just a little tired from the weekend,” I said, hoping he didn’t question me further. “Halloween and all.”
“Right. Of course. I’m sure there were a lot of parties. Try not to get too carried away. I’d hate to see you fall behind. You’re one of my best students.” Flashing me a toothy smile, Tony patted me on the shoulder. His hand lingered, giving it a squeeze before pulling away.
